Gomez seeks ‘unity’ with Zamoras after San Juan win; Janella Estrada also wins

Guia Gomez (right) is reelected as mayor of San Juan City while Janella Estrada wins as vice mayor on May 9, 2016 (Photo by JOVIC YEE, INQUIRER)

MANILA — The Ejercito-Estrada clan can now rest easy as San Juan Mayor Guia Gomez and Councilor Janella Estrada were proclaimed Monday night as the winners in this year’s polls.

Gomez has secured her third and last term as the city’s top executive, winning over erstwhile ally, outgoing Vice Mayor Francis Zamora by a margin of only more than a thousand votes. Estrada, on the other hand, trumped Councilor Totoy Bernardo, after she received a vote of close to 30,000.

The local Commission on Elections board proclaimed Gomez and Estrada the mayor- and vice mayor-elect, respectively, after it received all of the results in the city’s 21 barangays.

Gomez received a vote of 28,828, while Zamora got 27,604. Estrada won 29,939 of the vote, while Bernardo only got 20,505.

Former councilor Jana Ejercito, however, failed to deliver an all-woman win for the clan as she lost to Rep. Ronaldo Zamora who received a vote of 31,172. Ejercito only got a vote of 22,922.

Gomez acknowledged that since she won by only a slim margin, her third term wouldn’t be as easy.

“This election divided San Juan. Now, we will try our best to heal and unite,” said Gomez, mother to former President Joseph Estrada’s son Sen. JV Ejercito.

In fact, she added that she would be the first to reach out to the Zamoras, who have become a bitter rival in this elections.

Janella thanked the people who backed their family despite the “challenges” they are facing. Her father, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, is currently detained in Camp Crame for his alleged involvement in the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

Janella assured Gomez that she would completely back her in her efforts to unite the city divided by the heat of politics.

Meanwhile, results of the presidential race in the city showed Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte leading the pack with 25,922 votes. San Juan resident Sen. Grace Poe trailed him with only 11,508 votes.  SFM